2 Chronicles 18:15

But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The king addresses the prophet Micaiah immediately after receiving a deceptive positive prophecy, demanding a sworn commitment to truth before hearing the actual divine message.

The words — מַשְׁבִּיעֶ֑/ךָ (mash.bi.'E./kha) literally means "make swear you," paired with כַּ/מֶּ֥ה (ka./Meh) and פְעָמִ֖ים (fe.'a.Mim) to form the repeated demand "how many times."

The thread — This exact oath demand appears in 1 Kings 22:16, where the parallel narrative records the identical exchange, and follows the pattern of oath-challenging seen in 1 Samuel 14:24 and Matthew 26:63.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to abandon preference for comfortable messages and submit to unvarnished prophetic truth, regardless of royal pressure or personal cost.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said אֵלָיו֙'e.La/vto/ him הַמֶּ֔לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king עַד־'ad-until כַּמֶּ֥הka./Mehhow/ many?פְעָמִ֖יםfe.'a.Mimtimes אֲנִ֣י'a.Ni[will] I מַשְׁבִּיעֶ֑ךָmash.bi.'E./khamake swear/ you אֲ֠שֶׁר'a.Sherthat לֹֽא־lo'-not תְדַבֵּ֥רte.da.Beryou will speak אֵלַ֛י'e.La/ito/ me רַק־rak-only אֱמֶ֖ת'e.Mettruth בְּשֵׁ֥םbe./Shemin/ [the] name of יְהוָֽה׃Yah.wehYahweh

King James Version

And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the Lord?

Cross-references

1 Samuel 14:24 Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
1 Kings 22:16 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”
Matthew 26:63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Mark 5:7 And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!”
Acts 19:13 Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”